Railroad operators are responsible for activating a whistle prior to crossing each highway or road intersection. Frequently, in investigating railroad collisions, it is necessary to determine railroad vehicle speed at the time at which the emergency brake was applied and the location at which the emergency brake was applied, with respect to the railroad crossing or other obstacle in the railroad vehicle's path. Further, the investigation of a collision involving an object and a railroad vehicle at a railroad crossing requires information as to the status of the railroad crossing. That is, it is necessary to know whether the railroad crossing is unmarked, marked, signaled, or gated at the time of the accident to evaluate the means by which a motorist was (or was not) informed of an approaching railroad vehicle, and whether the motorist was prevented from crossing the tracks in front of the approaching railroad vehicle.
Currently, there is no existing technology that verifies whistle activation and records the vehicle speed, time and location of whistle activation as the railroad vehicle approaches the crossing. This information can be later recalled from an in-vehicle device via a direct connection, a removable memory card, or wireless transmission and stored in a permanent database for use in analysis. This information can concurrently be monitored and stored along with the horn activation data.
Likewise, there is currently no technology that allows for the capture and storage of the status of the railroad crossings. This information can be recalled from an in-vehicle device via a direct connection, a removable cassette, or wireless transmission and stored in a permanent database for use in an accident investigation analysis.